Accident Victims Pedestrians

Los Angeles' Metro Blue Line trains had more accidents involving pedestrians last year than any other light rail system in the state, the Public Utilities Commission reported Thursday.

Three people, including two children, died Tuesday and another person was seriously injured in separate accidents in which pedestrians were struck by cars, authorities said. A woman and her granddaughter were fatally struck as they jaywalked on El Segundo Boulevard east of Avalon Boulevard in Willowbrook, California Highway Patrol Officer Spencer Ammons said. Esther Cruz, in her 50s, died at the scene, Ammons said.

The teenage son of a well-known Glendale radio station owner, fleeing from pursuing police Tuesday in a noise-complaint case, tried to run across the Golden State Freeway where he was hit and killed by a semi-trailer truck, police reported. He was identified by a family spokesman as Sean Michael Beaton, youngest son of Ron Beaton, co-owner of radio station KIEV-AM (870) in Glendale.

A pedestrian killed when one of two cars in a collision struck her and another woman Wednesday on Olympic Boulevard, has been identified as Rona Mink Smith, 61, of Beverly Hills. Another pedestrian, Evalyn Rodin, 62, also of Beverly Hills, remained in critical condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Beverly Hills Police Lt. Albert J. Munoz-Flores. Investigators are reviewing the film from red light cameras to determine what caused the accident, he said.

Helen Bernstein, former Los Angeles teachers union president and a candidate for a City Charter reform panel, was struck by a car and killed Thursday night as she was crossing Olympic Boulevard on the way to speak to a neighborhood association, police said. Bernstein, 52, was late for a speaking engagement at the Miracle Mile Residents Assn., said Jeanine Jackson, who attended the meeting. Bernstein was one of several candidates for the panel who were scheduled to speak.

A Van Nuys man in a wheelchair was killed and a woman was injured Wednesday when they were hit by a freight train in Northridge, police said. Stephen Aroff, 43, and Patti Wainer, 39, were at the train crossing in the 8300 block of Balboa Boulevard about 12:45 p.m. when Aroff started to cross, police and witnesses said. The wheels of his motorized wheelchair got caught in the tracks, said Officer Walter Hogue of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

A 50-year-old Fullerton man who was struck by a police car as he crossed a street Aug. 27 has died of his injuries, coroner officials reported Tuesday. Leopoldo Pimentel died at 7:41 p.m. Monday at UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was being treated for a broken leg and elbow, multiple cuts and internal bleeding from the accident. Pimentel was crossing Chapman Avenue at 9:30 p.m. with a bag of groceries when a police car traveling west at about 35 mph struck him.

Orange County children are victims in a disproportionate share of pedestrian accidents, with an average of two a week being struck by cars, according to a study to be released today. Reflecting a statewide trend, children account for 33% of Orange County pedestrian accidents, even though they make up less than a fourth of the population, researchers from the Surface Transportation Policy Project found.

A 53-year-old pedestrian died Monday in Pacoima when he was hit by two vehicles, including one that may have fled the scene, a fire official said. Witnesses said the man was crossing mid-block on Kelowna Street, just west of the 10200 block of North San Fernando Road, when he was hit by a van, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. Witnesses reported that the man's body was thrown 20 to 30 feet, and he was struck by another vehicle that sped away, the spokesman said.

Police on Friday arrested a man suspected of killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run accident Thursday night. Investigators arrested Jeffery Allen, 40, about 10:30 a.m., said Det. Tom Whetzel of the LAPD Valley Traffic Division. Allen, of Newbury Park, was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run felony manslaughter and will be arraigned Tuesday at Van Nuys Municipal Court, Whetzel said.

A Los Angeles man was killed late Friday when two cars struck him as he tried to walk across the Antelope Valley Freeway. The incident occurred about 9 p.m., after a Toyota van driven by Manuel Alas, 38, hit a concrete divider on the freeway north of Sand Canyon Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Charles Blair said. After hitting the wall, Alas got out of the van and tried to cross the lanes, Blair said.

A 28-year-old man was killed late Wednesday when he stepped in front of a moving car on a Laguna Hills street, authorities said. The man, whose identity was not released, suffered severe head injuries about 9:15 p.m. near the Laguna Hills Mall, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Larry Abbott. Witnesses told sheriff's deputies that the victim strolled into traffic on Avenida de la Carlota just north of Los Alisos Boulevard, Abbott said.

The driver of a sedan that ran off the road in March and killed a 77-year-old Valley Village man was sentenced to a year in jail. Edward Brown of Panorama City pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter. He said he lost control of his car when his brakes failed. The sedan careened onto a Sherman Oaks sidewalk, hitting a telephone pole, a bus bench and two trees before striking Nasrollah Rezaie.

A 56-year-old man was struck by a car and killed Thursday night while illegally crossing a dark stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Chatsworth resident Steven Ettleson was wearing black clothing as he crossed the street just west of Whitsett Avenue. He was hit by a vehicle heading west about 11:20 p.m., Officer Morlee Watson said. The driver, a 21-year-old Sylmar man, was not charged.

A 14-year-old girl was killed Friday night after being hit by a car in Santa Clarita, authorities said. Catalina Macias, 14, of Canyon Country, was in a marked crosswalk when struck by a car driven by Troy Kirchhoefel, 29, of Canyon Country, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The crash occurred at 10:30 p.m. on Soledad Canyon Road at Rainbow Glen Drive. "The accident is still under investigation, but it appears she stepped out into traffic," Sheriff's Sgt.

An 18-wheel tractor-trailer pulling out of an Anaheim shopping center Thursday hit a pedestrian and dragged him 40 feet, killing him, police said. Harvey G. Brillon, 79, of Anaheim was hit as the Alta Dena Dairy delivery truck was driven from a loading dock at Broadway and Euclid Street shortly before 3 p.m., Sgt. Rick Martinez said. Driver Kevin F. Wallace, 47, of Ramona, who was not cited, had turned onto Broadway. He stopped when a witness signaled him.

Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who fatally injured a pedestrian. Liborio Duenas, 51, died after he was struck while crossing Webb Avenue, north of Strathern Street, at 8:25 p.m. Tuesday, said Det. Jim Mann of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division. The North Hollywood man, who suffered a fractured pelvis and internal bleeding, was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was pronounced dead, Mann said.

The man was 60-plus years old, wearing tan trousers, a baggy sweater and nice shoes. He was carrying bags containing Jack in the Box hamburgers and Kentucky Fried Chicken. And he was walking south at dusk on a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway known as South Coast Highway. That is all Laguna Beach police knew Wednesday about the victim of Tuesday evening's fatal hit-and-run accident at the southern end of town.